The Enbridge Northern Gateway is a proposed pipeline project that would ship Alberta tar sands crude to Kitimat, British Columbia.

Pitting the economy against the environment has always seemed to me to be a false dichotomy.

For example, here in British Columbia, we have an economy that relies both on the province's natural resources and its natural beauty, and to not care for the environment from which we draw those resources, seems a short term fools game.

The thought of more oil tankers and pipelines along the pristine coastline of Vancouver, British Columbia is a pretty disturbing thought for most people living in the area. While some tankers do ply the waters, Vancouver is a major tourist destination that relies heavily on its natural beauty and amazing ocean-scapes.

A scheduled 'integrity dig' on Enbridge's Line 21 or Norman Wells Pipeline has alerted the company to contaminated soil in two locations along the line, according to an Enbridge news release, raising concerns the aging line may be leaking along its 870 kilometre route.

The most striking part of Enbridge’s Northern Gateway community hearings in Vancouver is that they’re not open to the community at all. Only a limited number of people get to present their position to the federally appointed Joint Review Panel, and the rest of the public aren’t welcome to watch them, despite thousands of Vancouverites who are passionate about this proposed pipeline and what it means for our future.

A scheduled 'integrity dig' on Enbridge's Line 21 or Norman Wells Pipeline has alerted the company to contaminated soil in two locations along the line, according to an Enbridge news release, raising concerns the aging line may be leaking along its 870 kilometre route.

The Northern Gateway Pipeline Community Hearings are nearly complete, with two remaining sessions scheduled in Kelowna and Vancouver at the end of this month. Come February, the Joint Review Panel will move into the “Questioning Phase” of the final hearing, scheduled to end in May of this year.

Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board has released its findings following the investigation of the Rainbow pipeline spill in April 2011, and the results highlight longstanding issues both with Alberta oil companies and the bodies that monitor them.

The British Columbia government has plans to double or even triple the amount of natural gas produced in the province in order to meet growing international demand. Although the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline is a key issue of concern to British Columbians, widespread fracking for unconventional gas presents another significant challenge that should be on the public's radar, according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives(CCPA).

What is ethical public relations? Where do you draw the line and what should your boundaries be when influencing public perceptions and opinions? As president of a Canadian public relations firm my colleagues and I face this question all the time. Some days the answer is more obvious than others, so I asked Rutgers University philosopher Jason Stanley how to maintain a principled position.